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Doug Ferguson

Yet the number that might resonate most for Tiger Woods in 2013 is three, as in rules violations.

Two were his responsibility for not knowing the rules.

He took relief from an embedded lie in a sandy area covered with vines in Abu Dhabi — except a free drop was not allowed in the sand. The two-shot penalty assessed after his round caused him to miss the cut.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Zach Johnson is having a September to remember, and there’s still one very big week to go.

In one tournament, he made a 25-foot birdie putt on his final hole to earn the last spot on the Presidents Cup team. In the next one, Johnson made a bunch of big putts in the final round of the rain-delayed BMW Championship for a 6-under 65 for a two-shot victory over Nick Watney.

Next up?

His victory Monday at Conway Farms gave Johnson the No. 4 seed going into Tour Championship, giving him a clear shot at the FedEx Cup and its $10 million prize.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Jim Furyk will have to wait one more day to try to end three years without a PGA Tour victory.

The final round of the BMW Championship was suspended Sunday because of steady rain that left too much water on Conway Farms. Furyk, who has a one-shot lead over Steve Stricker, was still about two hours away from even teeing off.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Jim Furyk put his 59 behind him with a round that was 10 shots higher in the BMW Championship. All that mattered was having a chance to win, which made Saturday a success.

Furyk recovered from a sluggish start with three birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn. A three-putt bogey from 30 feet on the par-5 18th forced him to settle for a 2-under 69 and a one-shot lead over Steve Stricker.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — With a shot at golf’s magic number, Jim Furyk had no trouble finishing the job.

Furyk birdied two of his last holes, stuffing a gap wedge into just over 3 feet on his final hole Friday at the BMW Championship, and knocked in the putt to become the sixth player in PGA Tour history to shoot 59.

Standing in the ninth fairway at Conway Farms, 103 yards from a front pin, Furyk didn’t want to let his chance get away from him.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Brandt Snedeker was making so many birdies that even an 18-foot putt looked like a mere tap-in.

When he finished his amazing run Thursday in the BMW Championship, he had seven straight birdies on his card and an 8-under 63 at blustery Conway Farms.

“You get on runs like that, you get excited for the next hole because you know something good is going to happen, because you’re in such a good frame of mind and everything is going in the right direction,” Snedeker said.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Tiger Woods and Chicago used to be a great recipe for winning, or at least coming close.

He won two PGA Championships at Medinah. He won the Western Open three times and the BMW Championship twice, all at Cog Hill. Woods has finished out of the top 20 only one time in 15 tournaments in the Chicago area, including the 2003 U.S. Open at Olympia Fields.

NORTON, Mass. — A great summer of golf finally paid off for Henrik Stenson.

Stenson made three straight birdies to race by a fast-fading Sergio Garcia, and he holed a bunker shot for birdie on the 17th hole to turn back a final threat from Steve Stricker and win the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Stenson was runner-up in the British Open and a World Golf Championship, and he tied for third at the PGA Championship. All that was missing was a trophy, and he took care of that on Labor Day at the soggy TPC Boston by closing with a 5-under 66 for a two-shot win over Stricker.

NORTON, Mass. — Sergio Garcia started with the lead in the Deutsche Bank Championship and shot 65. And he needed just about every birdie.

On a TPC Boston softened by so much rain that the third round Sunday had to be started over, Garcia kept his nose in front and gave himself a two-shot cushion with a birdie on the final hole as darkness settled over New England.

NORTON, Mass. — Sergio Garcia had a good start and a great finish Saturday in the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Garcia opened with five birdies in seven holes, and then knocked in an 18-foot eagle putt on the 18th hole at the TPC Boston for a 7-under 64 and a one-shot lead over Roberto Castro among the early starters in the second round.